Jack looked down at his companion, Shadow the Shinx, and blinked several times, "What is it?"

"Shii Shii!!" She motioned with her tail down the long route before them. In the distance was the metallic outline of skyskrapers, their peaks reaching into the sky and tearing into the clouds, "Oh...a city? Maybe there we can find out some information on 'Gym battles' and other stuff...since I am a trainer now!"

"Shiinx!" Shadow's tail wriggled merrily and she darted forward on the road, going from side to side in a strange zigzaggy pattern, "Shishishi..." she seemed to be singing to herself with excitement.

One night had passed since Lemonade left Port Barley. Last night he'd been forced to sleep under the stars with nothing but a blanket. Lemonade had not seen anyone since he left Barley. Now it was morning time and it was time for Lemonade to pack up "camp." He picked up his blanket, folded and packed it and took his pillow and stuffed in his back pack. Then he cleaned up the fire pit that he'd made last night to cook up dinner.

After he double checked to see if everything was nice and clean he took the pokeballs of his Riolu named Rosie, Rattata named Ratty and Zubat named Azure and released them from their spherical containers. They all looked happy and ready to go. "Guys, we've still got a couple of days ahead of us until we get to Petropolis" Lemonade said to his pokemon. All three of them made noises suggesting that they were not happy about the news; then they started walking.

The four of them were walking for quite sometime, just talking and playing when all of a sudden Rosie just sat down on the ground. Lemonade went over to her and bent down on his knees to look at her at eye-level. "What's wrong Rosie?" Lemonade asked his Riolu. She replied with just a "Rio," and that was it. Lemonade asked her to get up and keep moving, but she was staying firmly in her spot. Afterward Lemonade tried a lot of things to get Rosie to move, but none of them worked.

After a few more minutes of persuasion Lemonade sat down and he felt the lump of a Luxury Ball he'd forgotten all about. He stuck his hand in his pocket and removed the small ball. "Hmm... I can't believe I still haven't seen if anything's inside of this thing," Lemonade said as he was examining the pokeball. He stood up (Rosie was still on the ground) and he pushed the button to make the ball grow and then threw it up in to the air. The ball snapped open and a slew of white light fell out of it and materialized in to a small purple monkey materialized out of the light.

Besides just being purple, the monkey was pretty strange. It had a long tail coming out of it's back that had a hand on the end. His normal hands didn't look much like hands themselves. It also had a small tuft of the same color hair that shot straight up.

"Whoa! An Aipom!" Lemonade said as he was observing it. After staring at the pokemon for a few seconds Lemonade glanced at Rosie and noticed that she was standing up. His other two pokemon had come over and were looking at the monkey too. The Aipom finally realized that these people were looking at him and he ran over to Rosie, pinched her nose with his tail hand and then ran back to were he was originally standing. Rosie didn't seem to like this much, and she started running after the monkey. Once the Aipom saw what was happening he started running into the trees. Rosie chased after him.

Lemonade just stared at the chasing for a couple of minutes and decided that nothing good could come of this. "Hey Rosie, Aipom, come over here!" He shouted, while he was looking in his back pack for some poketreats. He waved them in the air and Aipom came over and Rosie followed. He handed each of them a treat and they calmed down. "Well, it looks like we've got a new family member," Lemonade said. Azure and Ratty looked as if they were okay with it, but Rosie didn't seem too pleased. "What should we name you?" Lemonade thought a second, "How about Handi?" Aipom looked up and smiled to say that he approved.

After the pokemon were done eating the all stood up and started walking again. Occasionally Handi went and pinched Rosie somewhere and they started chasing each other again. "It looks like this is going to be one funny relationship," Lemonade said as he looked at the road that stretched out in front of him.

[[OOC: Forgive my delayed reply, I am gone or working most weekends.]]

"Shii SHIII!!" Jack perked up at Shadow's sudden cries. He had been calmly munching on some berries he had found--sharing them, of course--when his Shinx had perked up and began wailing like this.

"What is it, girl?" He stood and finished the berry quickly and went to follow after his hyped up pokemon. She began heading down the road and kept turning back as if motioning for him to follow her, "I'm comin', I'm comin'..."

He picked up his back pack, shoved in the remaining, uneaten berries, and began following the overly-hyped pokemon at a slightly speeded gate.

"Shi! Shi!" Shadow stopped suddenly, and Jack noticed that she was peering secretly through a bush, "Shi." At her order, he crouched down and tiptoed up behind her.

Before them was a trainer, his four pokemon in tow, playing about as they headed down along the road that came from Barley. He watched a few moments, but his Shinx had other plans.

"SHII!!!" Its fur lit up in a blinding flash, and--his eyes momentarily blinded--he fell forward, revealing himself to the trainer--although Shadow had probably already blinded him, "Um...Hello..." he said to the large amount of nothing that he could see.

((Sorry, I had to tie up some loose ends from the last RP, meaning this post is quite long. The jist of what happens is: -Charlie finds a Pokemon center-Charlie talks to her Grandma on the Phone-Charlie regains her confidence and is itching for a battle))

Charlie sprinted with the long road – saying her last goodbyes to the town of Petropolis. She had sunk into a state of depression after her loss, ’Maybe I’m not cut out to be a trainer’. Charlie’s newly evolved Quilava looked up at her with concern. He couldn’t help but be concerned about her – Charlie had never lost a battle.

“In fact”, she added, “I think there’s a Pokémon center a few miles up this road.” Charlie put on a cheerful face – for Quilava’s sake - but deep down, Charlie couldn’t help feel bad. She didn’t know what to do. She closed her eyes and continued running, she’d never have to set foot in Petropolis again...----30 minutes later, the sun was at its peak and they’d reached building on the roadside with Pokeball logo - The Pokémon center.

“Lava! Quil!” Growled Typhu. Charlie smiled and nodded at the Fire mouse to indicate they had reached their destination. She pushed open the wooden door to be greeted by a friendly woman with pink curls and a nurse’s hat.

“Thank you”, she replied curtsying, “You’re free to use one of the telephones or get some food whilst you wait.”

“I think I will”, Charlie responded, awkward trying to return a curtsy. As she turned away, the horrible feeling she had started coming back to her. Her stomach was in knots again.---Charlie stepped over to the video phone and dialled a number. She waited anxiously for a minute – until a wrinkled face appeared on the screen. It was not the wrinkled face she wanted to see.

“Hi Grandma...” Charlie said blankly, “Is Grampa there?”

“No, I’m afraid he’s tending to the Pokémon, he won’t be back for a few hours...” She replied.

“Oh ok...” Charlie replied sadly.

"Charlie dear, are you okay?" asked her Grandma with a concerned look.

"No, I'm not," said Charlie. "My stomach is in knots, and my chest is cramped."

"It's okay, Charlie," said the old woman. "I know it can be hard losing your first big battle, but don't beat yourself up over it. Everyone loses once in a while."

"Yeah, but Jeremy didn't just beat us, he destroyed us," said Charlie. "And it's all my fault. He was right, maybe I shouldn’t battle after all."

"It's not your fault, Charlie," said Sakura. "You battled as hard as you could, and from what I saw on TV, you put up an incredible fight, especially with a type disadvantage."

"Then why did I still lose?" asked Charlie.

"Charlie, please don't...."

Charlie's hands began trembling again as tears fell from his eyes. "Let's face it, I never should have joined that stupid Tournament in the first place! Maybe I should just quit now and admit defeat! I was fooling myself thinking I ever had a chance of...."

"STOP IT!" The elderly lady shouted.

Stunned by her Grandma’s sudden interruption, Charlie fell silent. As she looked at the screen, she saw her grandmother was about to cry.

"Listen, Charlie," pleaded the aged woman, "However you may feel right now, you are NOT pathetic, and losing was NOT your fault! And there's no way I'm gonna let you give up!"

Charlie stared at the screen, totally at a loss for words. As her Grandmother blinked the tears from her eyes, she smiled a bit.

"When I was younger, times where very different and there were very few female Pokémon Trainers. I made it much harder for me, and many people would discriminate me because of my gender, before even battling me. They said Pokémon training was a man’s job...”

Charlie looked at her in shock, “You where a Pokémon Trainer?!”

"Not just a Pokémon trainer... Sinnoh champion, 1962-64", smiled her Grandma, “The reason I got that far was because I believed in myself and never let those jerks tell me otherwise”A faint smile crossed Charlie's lips. "Do you.....really think I can do it?"

"I don't think. I know," said the old woman, "I know you can, if you trust in the true strength of yourself and your Pokémon!"

Suddenly, the smile on Charlie's face became a lot wider. "You're right, Grandma! If I quit now, I really will be a loser! So, I'll give it another shot! And this time, I'll win no matter what!"

"That's the spirit, Charlie!" said the woman, "Now that I know where to find you, I’m going to send my Staraptor with a special Package to you. ’Think you can stay put for a few hours?"

“Sure!” She replied ecstatically, “I plan on finding a battle too if you don’t mind!” The two smiled at each over as the screen turned off. The red head got up and walked to the desk to retrieve her Pokémon – itching for a battle.

A dark haired kid fell out of the bushes and said "Hi." Lemonade just stared, he didn't know how to react to such an odd confrontation. Lemonade's four pokemon seemed a little spooked by this and also by the fact there was a Shinx crawling out of the shrubbery. Handi was standing on his tail smiling and decided that the dark-haired kid would be fun to pick on, so got down off his tail and ran over to the kid and pinched his nose and scampered back near his new trainer and got back on his tail.

"Uh, hey there. I'm sorry about my Aipom, he, uh... he's new," Lemonade said as he was still staring at the kid lying down in the dirt. He then stuck out his hand to offer him being helped up and said, "I'm Lemonade, who're you?"

"Thanks a lot. I think i'll take them out for some fresh air!" Charlie replied. The two bowed at eachover and went there seperate ways.

"C'mon out guys!" She tossed her balls up releasing her Pokemon: Jet the Starly who flapped it's wings rapidly; struggling to keep his balance, Typhu the Quilava who ignigted his back to show how pumped he fealt, and finaly, Demon the Houndour let out a shy bark.

"Looks like we're ready for an adventure, but dont go to far away from the center, i'm expecting a gift", She explianed. The pokemon split up, whilst Quilava stayed with Charlie.

When the Shinx stepped Handi, Handi started chasing after quickly and was throwing swift attacks at it.

"Why, YES! Yes I am," Lemonade said with fake enthusiasm, "It only makes sense, seeing as this road doesn't lead to anywhere else the way I'm headed," said Lemonade with an almost sarcastic voice. Lemonade was staring at the chase that was going on for a minute and the turned to Jack and said, "How long've you had that Shinx?"

"Shadow? Well, I don't know...I've been traveling with her ever since the evacuation of the city..." he gazed down at her, and she looked up at him, a fondness aglow in her eyes, "It's been quite awhile..."

"Shii." Shadow leaned up and licked his nose gently, bringing a smile to his lips.

"What about you? You don't seem like just an average trainer. You've already got four Pokemon! ...that's good, isn't it? Do you have any um...what are they called now...?"

"Shiishii!"

"Oh, right! Thanks, Shadow. Badges! Do you have any badges?" He said with a bright, airheaded grin.

"Yes, and no," Lemonade said, "Y'see, before I lived in Furoh I lived in Johto. Also before I had all of these guys I had a Wartortle. Me and Hydro, that's my Wartortle, we battled the first three gyms over there. But since I moved to Furoh, I've not been to a gym yet. I don't feel that me and my pokemon are strong enough yet."

Lemonade went over to where Handi was chasing Shadow and picked up Handi and even though he was squirming, Lemonade walked calmly back over to Jack and said, "Do you know anyone that's missing an Aipom? I don't quite know where this little guy came from."

"I actually don't...know...anyone. Like, at all." He laughed and scritched the back of his head in exasperation, "Sorry."

"Shii!!!!" Jack flopped forward as Shadow squirmed out of his arms and bolted away through the bushes, "He-hey! Come back!" he flipped and flupped after her in a dumbstruck race to catch up, "Waaaait!"

"Shii...." the small cat snarled.

"Piii...." the electric rodent snarled back.

"Huh?" Jack could feel the static forming in the air, and his skin stood on end as cracks of electricity began forming from the two electric Pokemon, "A...Pikachu? Here?"

"Shiiii.....SHIII!!!" Crackles of electricity formed out of Shadow's fur and she sent it in a wave at the pikachu, who, in its state of dumbfoundedness, was struck dead-center with the attack.

"PIIKAAA!!!" It fell to the ground, and from the elictricity seen ensnaring its body, it was obviously paralyzed, "Uh...um...Shadow...sh-should I try to catch it?"

"SHII!" She said, nodding in confirmation.

He pulled around his backpack and shuffled through it, looking everywhere for a pokeball, "C'mon...c'mon...Ahah!" He pulled out the white and red sphere, scratched and scoffed from rolling around in his backpack, and threw the back pack down before un-shrinking the ball and turning back to the pikachu, "Um....go...pokeball!"

He clumsily tossed it forward, just nicking the pikachu on its ear and drawing it, in a beam of red light inside. Jack stared intently as the ball shook several times, but finally 'Pommmed' to a hault.

"I...I did it?...I DID IT!!! WooHoo!!!" Jack cheered, Shadow cheering with him at his side, "I caught a Pikachu!!!"

He picked up the ball and cuddled it close to his face, "Omigodomigodomigod! pikachuuuu~!!!"

Charlie and Typhu roamed the edges of shrubbery beside the Barley-Petropolis path. She didn’t want to stray too far from the path; she had to meet up with Demon and Jet later.“Hey maybe we should look for a wild Pokémon to battle whilst we’re out here!” She exclaimed to the Fire Mouse. Quilava nodded contently as he continued pacing through the forest floor.

“-Shiiii.....SHIII!!!"

Charlie and Typhu jumped in surprise “Must already be a Pokémon battle goin’ on!” They both ran towards the source of the noise until Charlie spotted two trainers. She yanked Quilava, pulling him behind the nearest tree and decided to see how the battle panned out.

“Thunderbolt!” She overheard the dark skinned boy announce. Just as he commanded, his cute Shinx unleashed sparks of electricity towards the Pikachu. Charlie grinned at the trainer’s skill, ’Maybe one of these guys could help me out...’

She approached the trainers as the Pokeball came to a stand-still. “Um... hi... I’m Charlie”, the red head said nervously, “I couldn’t help notice you battle that Pikachu, I’m impressed!” She sent him a smile and played with her hair nervously.

"Huh!? Another trainer!" Lemonade said out of surprise. He hadn't seen anyone for a whole day, then he met two in 10 minutes. "Sorry, that was kinda rude. Hey I'm Lemonade and this is uh..." Lemonade paused for a second and said, "Oh, yeah, it's Jack," Lemonade noticed that she had a Quilava. "WHOA! That's a Quilava! My cousin had one of those before it evolved! I absolutely I love that pokemon!" Lemonade said really enthusiastically.

‘Lemonade?! That’s a strange name...’ She thought to herself. She smiled at the two, waiting for them to say something else.

"WHOA! That's a Quilava! My cousin had one of those before it evolved! I absolutely I love that pokemon!" Lemonade said enthusiastically.

“Ah, this old thing” She replied smugly, stroking up and down his fur coat, “We’ve come to Furoh on a journey together. His name’s Typhu” Suddenly, Charlie turned her attention to the purple Monkey balancing on its tail.

“Is that an Aipom?” She asked curiously, “It sure looks energetic. I'd love to see it in a battle!"

When Handi heard Charlie talking about him, he perked up his ears and started climbing on Typhu and acting like he was a horse. "Yeah! I would too!" Lemonade replied, "How about me versus you? A four on four battle. What do you say?"

Jack was too dumbfounded to speak. He watched as the two spoke and blinked several times, "Um...Hey...." He attempted to speak out, but before he got the chance the two had already scheduled a battle of one another. He scurried to his feet and scampered to the sidelines.

He hit the center button on the pokeball and from the ball came the yellow mouse, "Pbbbb...." It shook a bit and turned to look up at him, "Pika! Pikachu~!"

He took note of its heart-shaped tail, "You're a girl, aren't you?" the pikachu nodded, and Jack lowered to his knees and grinned, "Well, how about a name for such a lovely lady?"

"Piii!" Her cheeks turned pink and she squealed in embarassment, "Piiikaaaa..."

He chuckled, "I seem to attract female pokemon, huh, Shadow?"

"Shiii!" Shadow herself blushed and cuddled into Jack's side, and he scritched her behind the ear lovingly, "Well...how about...Freya? The Norse Goddess of Beauty, Love and Destiny."

"Challenge accepted!" Grinned Charlie. She looked over at her 3 Pokemon as they scurried out of the shrubbery on the roadside.

"Um... I don't think I can battle 4vs4 since I only have 3 Pokemon" She said, waiting for Lemonade to come up with something. She looked around acwardly and noticed Jack and his Pikachu - Pikachu gave Jack a nasty shock - she couldn't help but giggle to herself.

"Hey Jack how about two of your Pokemon pair up with two of mine" Charlie asked, "I'm sure Lemonade can handle two of us", Charlie waited for a responce. She was finally feeling content with herself, she was actually making friends.

Jack looked up, "Huh?? M-me??? Really?!" He didn't even seem to notice the sizzling sensation that he had recieved all over his body from the electricution, "I'd be honored!"

He stood up quickly, his eyes burning with excitement, "I only have these two...Is that alright??" He asked with a smile, and his two electric pals bounded forward, both looking determined, and positively brimming with electricity.

"Shadow and Freya are ready to go and so am I!" Jack said cheerfully, "If you'll have us, we'll gladly fight at your side!"

Another double battle? AWESOME! Lemonade thought while the battle style changed. He was excited because he'd had that battle of his life last time, and now, withing 48 hours time, he's having another one. "All right! Let's go. Each of you use one pokemon at a time?" Lemonade said and without waiting went over to a suitable battling spot with rocks, trees and grassy areas. "Handi, Ratty, come on out!" he shouted as he threw the two pokeballs into the air. From the Luxury ball Handi appeared and bounced off of his tail and did a flip. Ratty sprung out of his pokeball and bared his fangs. "Are you two ready to fight?"

The old man walked other to the small girl. She was holding what looked like a tile with an “A” symbol on it. She stroked the dusty tile with her finger – fascinated by it.

“Ah. That’s an Unown tile” The old man replied, “They are supposed to be relics of the Pokémon Unown”

“Unown”, the little girl said to herself, stroking the tile once more. Suddenly, a purple aura surrounded the tile. The symbol on it came to life and started floating in front of them.

“UNNOOWWNN” It chanted. Charlie fell backwards and let out a small scream.

“Grandpa I wanna’ go!” She pleaded. She didn’t like the look of it one bit. Her Grandfather held her in his arms and turned away from the Unown.

“UNNOOWWNN... UNNOOWWNN”, the symbol chanted again. Suddenly, dozens of tiles broke of the walls of the ruins and transformed into Unown. Charlie and her Grandfather began loping towards the cave exit. Suddenly, a swarm of Zubat dropped from the roof and started aimlessly scurrying about the ruins in a panic – it was clear the Unown had woken them up.

“Now’s our chance Charlie!” The old man yelled, dragging her out of the ruins...

The present:

This was the present though, she had no time to remoniss about the past – she had to focus on the battle.